It’s the first really warm day of spring, and it’s a hell of a day to be in Spanish Harlem. I joined some volunteers for a New York Cares “Hands on New York Day” project at Thomas Jefferson Park up on 112th Street. I was part of a team painting a wall, some others did some gardening. Ambient sound: Kids playing baseball, dogs yipping, and the din of cars on the FDR. In the distance, Metro North trains passed on the overhead track out of Grand Central, and across the river the Amtraks crossed the Hell Gate Bridge. Pizza arrived for lunch, it had fried chicken on it. Our volunteer team included people from the Nielsen Company, JP Morgan Chase and News Corp. We chatted with the parks guys, got dirt and paint under our fingernails, and felt good about doing work.